World View: Defining the Cultural Context of the Teacher.

There has been sufficient research in the area of conceptual change that indicates that students' conceptions or alternative theories are much more resistant to change than was previously thought. The work of cultural anthropologists, and more recently science educators, points to the role of individual world views in the learning of science concepts. A world view is one's fundamental assumptions and presuppositions concerning perceptions of reality. The purpose of this ethnographic investigation was to shed light on the dynamic interaction of individual world views within an elementary science methods course in relation to understanding science and nature and how these presuppositions influence individuals' view of science teaching. The subjects for this study were 30 students enrolled in a science methods course at Temple University. Ten of these students participated in the interviews reported here. The outcomes of this investigation revealed that students do not view themselves as part of science or nature. The investigation also uncovered students' views of the self, nonself, relationship, and causality that affect their learning and view of science teaching. This investigation provides further demonstration of the influence of world views and the interplay of those views with the notion of scientific literacy. Contains 47 references. (Author/CCM)